Texas cowboy priest lets dogs assist with services

USA Today recently featured a Catholic parish along the Texas-Mexico border with some unusual clerical assistants. They’re dogs.

Rev. Roy Snipes of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Mission brings five of his large, mixed-breed dogs into the sanctuary to greet parishioners and accompany him during services. They even have their own vestments.

The story follows Snipes– “a self-proclaimed cowboy preacher who relishes a Lone Star beer after Mass and loves country music”– as well as other clergy who incorporate ministry animals into church life:

The dogs sometimes veer off from the processional to prowl the pews, greeting favorite people, but during Mass they generally lie quietly at the altar (though one has taken to curling up in the celebrant’s chair, so Sikes has to perch on its edge).

He’s so convinced of the power of the animals that when a newcomer complains (rarely), he says gently, “If you want to look for a church that doesn’t have dogs, I’m sure you’ll find one.” He reminds them Jesus was born surrounded by animals. “In this dehumanized era, I believe dogs are the angels that will keep us human.”